Bachelor Degree recommendations?

[xshellyx]

Hey everyone! So I got my Emt-B certs, and finally got a job with a private company! yay Anyways, I eventually want to be a Paramedic and possibly a firefighter/paramedic, but I really want to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in a related field, just to be "educated" and have it under my belt. Does anyone have any suggestions on degrees which will complement my work in EMS? I know there are always the broad subject options like Sociology or Psychology, but are there any that are specifically better options than others? Thank you

 

[fast65]

Maybe a degree in nursing? I'm not really sure, but that's the only suggestion I can think of.

 

[emtchick171]

Bachelor's in Nursing (what I am going for)

Bachelor's in Emergency Medical Science

Bachelor's of Science in Emergency Medical Care

 

[EMT11KDL]

http://www.uvu.edu/ufra/

BS - Emergency Services Administration (Emergency Care)
BS - Emergency Services Administration (Emergency Management)

Utah Valley University offers two BS degrees under there Fire Science and Emergency Services Program.

 

[WolfmanHarris]

Honestly, you can't go wrong with a BscN. Any related degree will help, but the BscN will not only provide relevant education but also give you another career option if you ever bust your back or knees or just burn-out. I hope I'll be in this career until retirement, but if that's not the case, my BA in Philosophy isn't going to open many doors.

 

[danlimmer]

Great idea - go for it!

Hey everyone! So I got my Emt-B certs, and finally got a job with a private company! yay Anyways, I eventually want to be a Paramedic and possibly a firefighter/paramedic, but I really want to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in a related field, just to be "educated" and have it under my belt. Does anyone have any suggestions on degrees which will complement my work in EMS? I know there are always the broad subject options like Sociology or Psychology, but are there any that are specifically better options than others? Thank you

You are very correct in wanting to go for a degree. The degree you choose is an important decision.

It might be prudent to start with an associate's degree in paramedicine. As you look for that concurrently look for Bachelor's programs that will take your 2-year degree and admit you as a full junior.

The benefit to getting the paramedic first is that you can then get your RN through Excelsior College with their bridge program.

I wouldn't jump into the nursing degree first unless you want to be a nurse. There are good parts (nurses make more money and there are many different types of jobs). A flight nurse who works alongside a flight medic makes more money.

Consider public administration degrees or paramedic degrees that have specialization options (homeland security, administration, research) as these will be more applicable when you someday decide you have had enough time working the ambulance. If you blow out your back and can't work it is also better to have a more marketable degree.

There are many credible distance education programs out there that you can do while you are working.

George Washington University
Central Washington University
Youngstown State University

and I head Pitt's Center for Emergency Medicine is beginning one, too. This is only a few DL options.

Good luck.

Dan Limmer

 

[beandip4all]

How about bio... or cellular biology?

A nice hard science that you can build on later... be it for NP or PA school or even med school.

Don't scrimp on the hard sciences classes with labs!

 

[apagea99]

Personally, I am working on a BS degree in Health Science. It's a general science degree with a focus on health care. I'm taking chemistry, biochemistry, A&P 1 & 2, immunology, health care admin, etc, etc. So far, it's been a good program and I'm happy with the knowledge I'm gaining.

 

[bstone]

I have a BS of Neuroscience. Helps (I guess) when I have neurologically compromised patients. And my MS in Neuroscience also helps.

 

[EMS49393]

I'm about to be the weirdo in this group. I'm over half way finished a B.A. in History.

Really, any four year degree will help you. My last boss had a B.A. in Philosophy as well as an A.A.S in Paramedicine. I really think his liberal arts degree has helped separate him from the typical candidate for a supervisors position.

I had nearly finished a degree in theater before I switched to EMS, and my physician mentor during my clinical rotations told me that he wished he had pursued a liberal arts degree in conjunction with his degree in biology. He thought it would help him better deal with people on a more personal and less scientific level.

Really, ANY degree will help you because it will show a prospective employer, should you stay in EMS, that you are able to start and complete something as strenuous as obtaining a four year degree, or higher, should you continue to graduate school.

If you like medicine, look at nursing, or CRNA, or NP, or PA. If you like EMS, get your degree in paramedicine, or emergency management. If you like something else, get a degree in that, as long as you have enough education to fall back on something should your chosen degree plan not work out.

I may never be lucky enough to use my history degree, but I do have my EMS degree to fall back on, so I'm not terribly concerned, and I'm honestly getting the history degree because I want it, not because I need it.

 

[SanDiegoEmt7]

I'm about to be the weirdo in this group. I'm over half way finished a B.A. in History.

Really, any four year degree will help you. My last boss had a B.A. in Philosophy as well as an A.A.S in Paramedicine. I really think his liberal arts degree has helped separate him from the typical candidate for a supervisors position.

I had nearly finished a degree in theater before I switched to EMS, and my physician mentor during my clinical rotations told me that he wished he had pursued a liberal arts degree in conjunction with his degree in biology. He thought it would help him better deal with people on a more personal and less scientific level.

Really, ANY degree will help you because it will show a prospective employer, should you stay in EMS, that you are able to start and complete something as strenuous as obtaining a four year degree, or higher, should you continue to graduate school.

If you like medicine, look at nursing, or CRNA, or NP, or PA. If you like EMS, get your degree in paramedicine, or emergency management. If you like something else, get a degree in that, as long as you have enough education to fall back on something should your chosen degree plan not work out.

I may never be lucky enough to use my history degree, but I do have my EMS degree to fall back on, so I'm not terribly concerned, and I'm honestly getting the history degree because I want it, not because I need it.

I agree. While nursing may seem practical and a hard science is nice for grad school, both of these can be accomplished later if you feel like it. There are Post Bacc Nursing programs where you can acquire your BSN in 18 months. If you feel like going to grad school just make sure you take the required classes, this doesn't mean you have to be a science major (It's only physics, calc, english, general/organic chem, and a few others).

Your major should be about something you enjoy, almost any degree will help you advance in your field (albeit management science and business may help more).

 

[jrm818]

I'll throw in another vote in agreement with the general sentiment here. I think the primary usefulness of most bachelors degrees (excluding some occupation specific degrees...like a BSN) is to teach you how to understand, manipulate, and think critically about information. As such, your choice of a field probably isn't super important.

Some of the classes that I now consider to have been the most useful covered pretty esoteric topics and included knowledge that I've mostly forgotten. What I haven't forgotten is the way to go about understanding and using new information. The ability to use and manipulate information is a skill that, once developed, will last as long as you practice it and serve you well you in most any field.

On the other hand, A BSN, BS in EMS, BS in some of the rehab sciences, etc. may open career doors that are unique to a specific degree. This so contrary to neuroscience, for example, which is incredibly interesting and great for learning how to interpret new information; nevertheless a BS in neuroscience opens few field-specific doors.

As mentioned, you can get a AS Medic degree and then transfer to a 4 year university. I used to think that was a super idea. Now that I'm back in school (going backwards I suppose....getting an AS now when I already have a BS) and going to a community college instead of a major research university, I'm rethinking that.

I've noticed a definite gulf between the teaching at a small 2 year school and a large university. At my university I was taught by lifelong educators and researchers who had a passion for teaching and also knew what they taught because they usually taught within a field for which they generated most of the knowledge in the first place. Community College may be passionate teachers, but the quality of the teaching and the knowledge of the professors doesn't quite match up in my opinion - and I think that's detrimental to a student's ability to develop interpretative skills.

It's one thing to be taught about cardiac physiology by a masters level prof using the slides that came prepackaged with the book, but another to be taught by the person who helped figure out how cardiac baroreceptors worked in the first place. If I only had the experience of the community college anatomy class, I'd probably think I hated anything to do with anatomy or biology and become a lit major or something.

Of course it's much more expensive to do all 4 years at a major university, so it's a trade off, like everything in life.

 

[TransportJockey]

Guys keep in mind, if you get a BS in something like bio, chem, or a science like that, its possible to gain a specialized BS (like BSN) on an accelerated track since you have the base knowledge and they just expand on what is specific to their profession.
Just another thing to think on
EDIT: I have no idea, however, if the same is true for a BA degree

 

[Akulahawk]

Find a field that you like that ISN'T related to Field Medicine directly. Public Health Admin or Business Admin or a hard science. Even get a BSN. Anything that will expand your horizons!

 

[EMSLaw]

See, if I had it to do all over again... I would not have gotten a general liberal arts degree (mine undergrad degree is in Political Science, with a minor in Philosophy).

If I were going back to school now, I would choose a bachelor's degree in something that would allow me to get a job with just that degree. Education, Nursing, Architecture, Pharmacy (though I guess they don't have B.Pharm.'s anymore, and that was always a five year program). For most /graduate/ programs, the particular major for your undergraduate degree doesn't matter.

On the other hand, having any degree is a good thing, and it does tend to teach you to focus and think differently. That's what higher education is all about.

 

[beginningNC]

Just wondering if I can get some feedback as I am in a similar situation as the one who started this thread.

I just received my EMT-B. I am taking A&P 1 right now and I have many liberal arts credit hours that will transfer to a university. I would like to complete a BS in Biology or maybe Chemistry as I think both fields offer many possibilities for future careers or grad school.

I am wondering if the folks who have four year degrees would recommend completing an AAS-Paramedic before the Bachelor degree or is it preferable to do it the other way around?

I know that having the BS would make me a more competent medic but honestly, at my age I am ready to get out and work. But I am afraid that after completing my AAS-Paramedic that I might be too wrapped up in my new career to attend a university. I want the BS to fall back on if, as others brought up, I get burnt out physically or mentally with EMS.

 

[TransportJockey]

The AAS might let you transition directly as a Jr, since a lot of schools will take the AAS as a set amount of credits... But I'm not sure exactly where it would place you in a specialized BS program

 

[beginningNC]

Well, I slept on it (for the 1000th night) and I've decided that I'm going to complete my Bachelor of Science before I take on Paramedic school.

I figure it will be easier to work part time as an EMT-B while I attend university rather than try to attend university while I'm beginning my career as a paramedic.

And I know that the my coursework for the science degree will make me a better paramedic. Plus I will have a degree to fall back on should I ever burn out on EMS.

I'm going to try to post here more often since I am official (I finally have my EMT-B cert). I plan on doing my first ride-alongs in the near future so maybe I will post about that.

 

[mikie]

http://ehs.umbc.edu

 

[TransportJockey]

One other option I forgot about is the university of New Mexico paramedic program. They offer a BS program for paramedic.

But either way, thank you for taking education seriously